A major advantage of thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules over conventional wafer-based modules is the potential for low cost of production. However, in practice, cost savings have been difficult to achieve as a major component of cost is the number and complexity of process steps involved in the manufacturing sequence and can quickly outweigh savings in material costs. In particular, the number of steps that require precise alignment, or the speed of the equipment used to perform a step, can have a strong bearing on cost, as can the robustness of a process, which might in some cases lead to additional remedial steps being required or result in lower performance of the end product because of material degradation. Therefore, process improvements that reduce alignment requirement, reduce the number of steps, reduce damage to the device, or allow a step to be performed more quickly provide significant advantages.